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Scotland: Celtic express picks up speed

FOOTBALL is supposed to be an unpredictable business, but Celtic’s 3-1 win at Aberdeen yesterday was their 20th on the bounce in the Premierleague and was routine in every respect. Even down to the post-match ritual of Martin O’Neill, their manager, swatting away speculation about his future.

This time the rumour mill spat out Manchester United’s name after a recent preoccupation with Liverpool, the conspiracy theory being that Sir Alex Ferguson’s contract talks are not going well and O’Neill’s is the first name on the list of replacements. “I know nothing about that,” said O’Neill as he departed down the Pittodrie corridors that Ferguson’s ghost haunts.

The only confirmation he could give concerned Stanislav Varga. Signed for free from Sunderland, he made his 30th appearance of the season, triggering a clause in his contract that will see the defender remain with Celtic until the summer of 2005. “His confidence had